


"I didn't know it when I met her."

by haato_biito



Series: -MEMORIA- [7]
Category: -MEMORIA- The World I Remember No Longer Exists
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Work(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 17:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11318454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haato_biito/pseuds/haato_biito
Summary: He did not know it when he first met her, but she had become such a profound part of his life, he could not help but wonder what would happen if she somehow dissipated like the condensation that clung to the frosty windows outside.After all, apparitions were not meant to last.





	"I didn't know it when I met her."

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original work by me, [tumblr user asuuna](http://asuuna.tumblr.com), based around my OCS from a work-in-progress novel, [-MEMORIA-](http://kaitoandkiyomi.tumblr.com). This is a ficlet I wrote purely for my own enjoyment, and nothing here is representative of the canon story. If you want to find out more about my characters and the main plot, [please click here!~](http://kaitoandkiyomi.tumblr.com/summary)

A hand lightly ran its way through Kaito’s hair as he sat on the couch, staring at the television but not actually watching it.

His mind was too occupied, and he almost didn’t feel the steady and homely gesture, but the way the hand ruffled the unkempt brown strands distracted him from his distraction. He looked up past his shoulder as a familiar figure stared down at him with a tender smile, a cup of coffee in their hand.

“Nee-san.” He acknowledged his sister Haruka distantly as she walked around the side of the couch, “What’re you doing?”

“That’s _my_ line, Kaito.” Haruka replied lightly as she sat next to him, curls of long, brown hair bouncing as she did so. Bringing one leg so it rested underneath the other, she took a sip of her beverage, “You’ve been staring into space for the last twenty minutes, and I know you’re not watching the T.V.”

As if to prove her point, she picked up the remote from the coffee table and switched it off, the screen cutting to black.

“It doesn’t concern you.” Kaito replied dully as he leaned further back into the seat of the couch, welcoming the quiet of the day as the background noise of the television ceased.

“If it concerns you, then it absolutely does concern me.” His sister stated practically, giving him a mock-disappointed look with her cheek puffed out.

“Hmm? Who says?” Kaito countered, wishing at that moment he also had a drink so he could avoid Haruka’s pestering.

“I do, as your older sister.” She stated simply, a smug grin creeping up her face, “C’mon, entertain me. I just got home from work and I’m tired. Give me _something_ interesting.” She crept closer to her younger brother, and he leaned back to equal the distance.

“I know you say that, but this time it really doesn’t matter to you.” Kaito explained, the tips of his ears pinkening uncharacteristically under the pressure of his sister’s unwavering gaze. Of course, Haruka noticed this change in his demeanor instantly, and only peered closer, prompting him to spill it all to her out of pure discomfit.

It was one of her favorite games.

Kaito’s eyes twitched as they avoided her.

“Hmm?” she hummed tauntingly, “What’s with that reaction? If it truly didn’t matter to me, you would’ve tried harder to hide your thoughts, but you’re practically an open book!” she exclaimed, taking another sip of her coffee in amusement.

“Am not!” Kaito defended, crossing his arms. He knew he was being cornered.

“Oh, you _so_ are.” Haruka stated, “You’re so open, I can tell you right here and now what’s on your mind. Do you believe me?”

“Obviously not.” He scoffed.

“Okay, well here goes.” She pointed a finger knowingly at her younger brother and announced, “You’re thinking about a girl!”

Kaito coughed, and played with the back of his hair as Haruka hit the bullseye in one shot.

“I knew it, I knew it!” she reveled in her victory, almost spilling her coffee, before adding, “So, who is this girl?”

“I’m _not_ naming anyone.” Kaito stated absolutely, recovering from the initial shock enough to regain some composure.

“Fine. You don’t have to tell me her name. But she’s at least in your class, right?”

Kaito remained silent, only looking at Haruka as if she were the biggest annoyance in his life. Which, in his opinion, she was.

“Year level?” Again, no reaction from her brother, but she smiled knowingly all the same, “Well, obviously she’s in your year level. You’re so not the ‘senpai’ type.”

“Can you think about what you say before you say it at least _once_ in your life, Nee-san?” Kaito shuddered, becoming awkward at the thought of there being such a type.

“Well, it’s not that uncommon. Like, when I went to high school –.”

“I really _don’t_ care.” Kaito interrupted, saving himself the trouble of one of Haruka’s ‘wild’ tales about high school life before she dropped out to begin working.

“I’m just saying.” She giggled, and smiled, “So. What’s she like?”

“Cute smile. Nice hair. I don’t know? What’re you even supposed to say?” Kaito attempted to answer her question, but found himself becoming flustered as an image of Kiyomi’s angelic smile and flowing river of charcoal hair flittered into his imagination.

“Well, that’s a good start, at least.” Haruka noted, “But what about personality-wise?”

“Personality?”

“Yeah, like, is she fun to be around? Is she sexy?”

“You need to stop.” Kaito reprimanded her, before saying, “Well, she’s kind, and optimistic. She’s kinda shy, but it’s nice.”

“Ah, so you like the quiet types?” Haruka stated, taking another sip of her coffee before it became cold, “I guess I kinda expected that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Considering your more isolating tendencies, I would think that a more outgoing girl might make you anxious.”

“Are you calling me a loner?” Kaito scoffed.

“ _I_ didn’t use those words, those are _your_ words.” Haruka justified, “I think it’s a good choice anyway. A loud girl might remind you too much of me.”

“Yeah, and that would be horrible!” Kaito grinned.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, giving him a playful punch to the arm, and they both ended up laughing.

Although his sister sometimes got on the best of his nerves, and they ended up bickering more than anything, he still loved her dearly, and laughing with her – simply being by her side – was one of the most comforting feelings in the world.

Haruka’s laughter died, and like the flick of a switch, her demeanor changed, taking on a serious, older quality. Kaito sensed this shift in the mood, and cleared his throat.

“You like her, yeah?” Haruka enquired out of the blue, setting her empty cup on one of the coasters on the coffee table.

“Well yeah, I guess.” Kaito replied simply, unsure as to where the conversation was going.

“So, how do you feel about her?” she pressed, her beautiful, hazel eyes meeting his metallic ones with a gleam of anticipation. “Like, truly; how do you feel about her? I worry about you sometimes, Kaito. You should tell me more about these things.”

Kaito shifted uncomfortably on the couch, knowing fully well that she would pick up on the slightest of lies. She had a way of reading him that almost drove him crazy with its accuracy, but comforted him during the worst of times.

He had to be careful.

“I guess… Well…” he struggled to get the words out, becoming embarrassed at revealing the truth, even if it was only to his sister, “ ** _I didn’t know it when I met her_** , but she made me realize how goddamn lonely I was.” Kaito sighed, ruffling the hair at the back of his head absently, “Like, sure, I have people I hang out with at school and stuff, but they don’t know me.” He tried to avert Haruka’s steadfast stare, but he could not draw his eyes away from her, “No one really knew me except for you. But… I think that she gets it, too. She gets _me_ , y’know?”

“She trusts you?”

“Yeah. It’s like she knew that no one my age had trusted me since… forever.” Kaito swallowed again, trying to hold back an influx of emotion that he definitely did not need at that moment, “She looks at me and she sees straight into the deepest parts of me. To be honest, a lot about her reminds me of you, Nee-san.”

Haruka nodded gently, urging him to continue.

“Also, she has this way of… I guess…” He struggled for a proper analogy, “of being like a flower with many petals. You think you’ve plucked one petal closer her heart, but there’s always one more before the center. For someone who can understand me so easily, the fact that I can’t seem to understand her properly makes me more interested in her. Or something like that…” Realizing that he had said something quite delicate for a boy his age, he clammed up. But Haruka only smiled reassuringly.

“So she’s like an enigma?”

“What’s that?” Kaito had never heard the term before.

“A person who is difficult to read. Mysterious in nature.” Haruka pointed a finger upwards as she explained, crossing her legs, “It’s an interesting word, don’t you think?”

“It’s pretty accurate, actually.” Kaito admitted, muttering to himself.

Yet the word made him think of other things. It made him think of a fleeting apparition, something that was there yet not there at the same time. A paradox of human nature. He could not help but compare Kiyomi to such a complex thing.

He did not know it when he first met her, but she had become such a profound part of his life, he could not help but wonder what would happen if she somehow dissipated like the condensation that clung to the frosty windows outside.

After all, apparitions were not meant to last.

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by tumblr user [oikawatoo](oikawatoo.tumblr.com)! Thank you for the prompt! [The prompt list can be found here!~](http://asuuna.tumblr.com/post/162232047197)


End file.
